Archive for September, 2008

French Caribbean carrier Air Caraïbes has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for three A350-1000 aircraft, and is with this purchase decision becoming the European launch customer for the largest version of the A350 XWB.

The aircraft will be operated on the airline’s network from Paris to the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique and soon to French Guyana. They will be configured in three classes with a total of 440 seats.

Air Caraïbes already operates a young all Airbus long haul fleet of two A330-200s and one A330-300, with three more aircraft of the same type (A330-300) on order. As the airline continues to add capacity on their popular long haul routes, the A350-1000 will become the backbone of the fleet.

Air Caraïbes operates approximately 20 flights per week out of the Paris hub, serving Guadeloupe and Martinique and from there an extensive inter-Caribbean islands route network including, Santa Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Bartholomew, the Dominican Republic, as well as routes to Costa Rica and Panama. The airline distinguishes itself by offering extra comfort with individual TV screens and on demand video systems in all classes.

An Aeroflot-Nord (Aeroflot’s regional airline) Boeing 737-505 (VP-BKO), flight 821 bound from Moscow to Perm (Russia) crashed as it was preparing to land early Sunday. According to news sources radio contact was lost during approach at 1,100 metres (3,600 feet). The wreckage was later found outside Perm, which is located near the Ural mountains. The plane burned on the ground for two hours before fire crews extinguished the blaze. All 88 people aboard have been killed.

AP is reporting that eyewitnesses described hearing an explosion and did see that the plane was on fire when it was “still in the air and it looked like a rocket and crashed near the building”.

(AP) The Defense Department has again delayed plans to award a $35 billion contract for Air Force refueling planes, handing a victory to defense contractor Boeing Co. and leaving the politically charged decision for the next president.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told lawmakers Wednesday that he ended the current round of bidding on the tankers because the Pentagon’s plan to pick a winner by the end of the year no longer seemed possible given the complexity of the project and the rancor between Boeing and rival Northrop Grumman Corp. He said a delay would provide a “cooling off” period.

“We can no longer complete a competition that would be viewed as fair and objective in this highly charged environment,” Gates said in statement prepared for testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.

The decision represents a major win for Boeing in its lengthy and bitter struggle with Northrop for the lucrative contract for 179 planes that could eventually include the right to build many more. Boeing recently threatened to back out of the bidding, saying the Pentagon’s timeline and terms unfairly favored the larger plane proposed by Northrop.

Boeing welcomed the Pentagon’s decision, saying it will allow “the appropriate time for this important and complex procurement to be conducted in a thorough and open competition.”

Afriqiyah Airways from Libya took delivery of its first medium range Airbus A319. This A319 is the first of three aircraft of this type to be delivered to the young and dynamic airline, and is part of an order signed in 2006, which also includes 11 A320s and three long range A330-200s. To date two A320s have also been delivered to the airline. In 2007, Afriqiyah signed another firm contract for six A350XWB aircraft to further expand their growing international long haul network.

The A319 will be integrated into Afriqiyah’s all Airbus fleet, and be deployed from their hub in Tripoli, from where Afriqiyah operates non-stop key routes in Europe such as Paris, Brussels, Geneva, London, Rome and Amsterdam, as well as to 17 destinations in North-, West- and Central Africa and the Middle East. The aircraft is configured to seat 124 passengers in a very comfortable two-class configuration and is powered by CFM56-5B engines.

Emirates has suspended operations of its Airbus A380 airliner until September 12 as engineers work on an electrical fault, the airline announced today.

The electrical fault on the Emirates plane “was noticed at the end of a training mission, when the aircraft was parked in front of the hangars,” said an official at the Dubai-based airline, providing no further details.

The route to New York JFK will be served meanwhile with Boeing 777-300ER.

Have you ever dreamed of living in an airliner? Soon you can book your own room in the world’s first Jumbo Hostel, located at Stockholm International Airport, Stockholm-Arlanda (ARN), Sweden.

The Boeing 747-200 at last operated by Transjet offers 25 rooms with 85 beds in total. One highlight will be the Cockpit Suite - the cockpit has been converted into a deluxe suite with parts of the original interior saved.

Austrian Airlines has signed a contract to acquire four Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners. The airline has also taken options on an additional two aircraft. The aircraft will be operated by the regional airline of the Austrian Airlines Group, Tyrolean Airways - brand name Austrian arrows.

Embraer today announced the delivery of the first EMBRAER 170 jet to Régional – Compagnie Aérienne Européenne, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Air France Group. This is the first of a total of nine firm orders it has for the EMBRAER 170 from the French airline.

Régional’s EMBRAER 170 is configured in a 76-seat single-class layout. It will enter service this week on its domestic and intra-European networks.